


My Name Is Drew

by SleeplessInGeneral



Series: What About Your Camp Spirit? [4]
Category: Dead of Summer (TV)
Genre: OCs - Freeform, everyone hates Drew's mom, plot filler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7948726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleeplessInGeneral/pseuds/SleeplessInGeneral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Friends for life stick together, especially if they're cousins. And when Andrea needs help with his mom, Chloe is there to help with everything. And when Drew needs somewhere to stay, Chloe is there to help with everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Name Is Drew

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story is full of OCs. It's also quite long, compared to the other stories, simply because I have a lot to say about what Drew's mom did to him. So, a short explanation about the OCs is in the bottom, but the most important thing to know is - Chloe is Drew's paternal second cousin. And she's the main focus of this story, as well as Drew, obviously. So that.

Chloe was the worst cousin Andrea could ever wish for.

Well, they weren't exactly cousins. Second cousins weren't supposed to be very close. But Andrea had to thank his grandmother's incredible skills at gathering up the family and planning reunions so big, he knew the names of his grandmother's cousins' grandchildren. And having as little contact with his own cousins as possible (except for maybe Kimmy and his aunt Donny's kids), and having none on his mother's side, he eventually decided that keeping close contact with his second cousins was the best chance he had at actually having cousins.

But Chloe was still the worst cousin Andrea could ever wish for.

For one, she had Kathy. Which wasn't that terrible, actually. Katherine Morelli was the only trans person Andrea knew aside for himself, and she was his cousin, which made it much better. But it also meant Chloe thought herself entitled to whatever it was that Andrea was uncomfortable with, so instead of telling him "talk to Kathy, she'll help you", she just told him things automatically. Which usually resulted in disaster.

And then came the bit where his mother actually hated her. Okay, maybe "hate" was a harsh word, but of Tony and Louise's kids, Chloe was the only one she couldn't stand. At least she refused to talk to Kathy after she came out as trans when she was fifteen (Andrea couldn't remember that, but he heard stories). But he just couldn't understand why, years after his father's death, she still kept close contact with her cousin-in-law and his wife. Louise said that it was because Andrea and Chloe were such good friends. Chloe said it was so she could antagonize her whenever she wanted to. Andrea said both were correct.

Nevertheless, Chloe was his oldest friend and he would never change it. He would change her, if given the chance, but not their friendship.

"Okay, so who watches Steven Universe?"

Andrea was snapped from his thoughts by the ever-enthusiastic Jake, who started talking about yet another show he watched with his younger sisters on Cartoon Network and decided that he liked. They already suffered the consequences of being forced to watch Adventure Time. There was absolutely no need for another show to ruin their lives.

And then he remembered it was Milkshake Wednesday for the Adventure Gang, and that's why he was talking about a cartoon. Because they had no other day to talk about that over shakes.

"Jake, dude, we love you, but we can't all watch Cartoon Network as obsessively as you do," Bea told him with a smile. "It's nothing personal. But some of us have actual lives."

"And some of us have actual jobs that take up actual time," Jessie added and took a sip from her milkshake.

"You don't count, Lady Rainicorn," Jake told Jessie and turned from her to look at the other three. "You need to watch that show!"

"Please, oh the almighty god of children's cartoons," Andrea said desperately. "Do tell us why we should watch another one of your cartoons."

"Because it has gender non-conforming characters? A cast full of people of color? Andrea, it's not just a kids' show. It's fantastic."

"Because your mom said so."

"Actually, no. Because it's a diverse and awesome show about a young kid who learns to harness his true powers by training with his alien mom's alien friends. Really now, why are you so mean to me all of the sudden? What did I ever do to you?"

"Leave it, Jake," Jessie said at that moment. "His birthday is in a week. He gets to be depressed. This is the last week he's going to be depressed while fifteen years old."

"Yeah, I get it, I even have the perfect gift already planned, but he doesn't have to be this mean to me." Jake took Andrea's hand and forced him to look into his eyes. "What's going on?"

"My mom." Andrea scoffed. Those four people were the only ones he was ever open with, and by that he assumed they already knew what was going on.

"It's always your mom. What's new with your mom?" Chloe offered. "Did she get a new piercing and it hurt so much that she's taking her anger out on– No, that can't be. Beth would never get a new piercing. She's too stuck up for that. Is it kidney stones or something like that? What's it called, gallstones? Those hurt like a bitch. Or appendicitis! That hurts too. Remember when Evan had appendicitis and he was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night when we were –"

"Thank you, Morelli, for the unwanted imagery." Andrea was laughing at this point. Of course she'll take everything out of context.

"Any time, Dalton."

"So what is it with your mom?" Bea finally asked after a long moment of everyone laughing at Chloe.

"We had a talk with Dr. Martin a couple of days ago and she brought up the epitaph story." He stirred his milkshake with the straw. "You remember the epitaph story, don't you?"

"Where she made you change the whole thing just because you wrote 'loving husband and father of an only son'," Chloe said. "Yes, I remember."

"You would remember. You were at the funeral. I'm talking to the rest of the Adventure Gang, thank you very much, Princess Bubblegum." He saw Jake throw a fist in the air. "So, as I said, she brought up the epitaph story. And Martin told her that it does not matter in the least to the therapy sessions, for which I give her kudos because it really doesn't matter to the sessions and my mom needs to realize that, but she just said…" He took a deep breath. "She said, 'this is exactly what I bring her here for. So that you could help her realize she can't hide from who she is. Writing that, that is hiding from who she is, and you can't dismiss it as useless to the therapy.'"

There was heavy silence, and then Jake gave a long "wow." He stared at Andrea with big eyes. "Your mom is a bitch."

"Yeah, no kidding." Chloe stared at him with equally big eyes. "My dad always told Joe that he made a mistake by marrying her. Of course, this would mean we would never have our amazingly morbid Andy, but I agree with him. And now we're stuck without Joe and with Beth. It's awful."

"You're not trying to hide who you are, you're trying to be who you are," Jessie told him. "What's wrong with that?"

"You know my mom, Braces. You've been over at my place more times than anyone else, save for Chloe. You know exactly what's wrong with that."

After finishing their shakes and paying the bill, Chloe attached herself to Andrea's side.

"Chloe, please. I can't today."

"I want to walk you home. Please. Nothing but walking home and talking." He gave up and opened his umbrella, Chloe doing just the same. "You really need to change your name."

"And why's that?"

"Because I don't think that you remember, since it happened when we were seven years old, but for Kathy, changing her name also changed her life." She moved hair from her face. "Goddammit with that rain," she grunted. "Anyway, as I was saying. For Kathy, changing her name also changed her life. Sure, it meant more people getting on her nerves for identifying as a woman but not passing as one, but it also meant she could pass more easily because if her name was female and not male, it was easier to simply take her for a masculine woman than a man."

"So you're saying that changing my name will also change the way people look at me. Yeah. Sure, Chloe. Tell that to the private school kid."

"You never know what's going to happen once you change your name, Andy. But trust me on this. It will only do you good."

* * *

 

_Two years later_

"Okay, something is killing this guy," Bea declared when Andy – now Drew to his friends – came to their booth at the diner, head hidden in his hoodie. "Come on, dude. Spill it."

"You need to watch Steven Universe," Jake declared. Drew glared at him. "What? I'm just suggesting something."

"I don't need to watch anything."

"Would a concert cheer you up?" Bea passed him a flyer to a Wolfmother concert and reached across the table to remove his hoodie. "Next Thursday. February 25th. It's going to be awesome."

"Thanks, Bea." He took the flyer and folded it. "It's not it. It's my mom."

"Again with your mom!" Chloe groaned out of nowhere. "What's with your mom all the time? Did she finally get appendicitis?"

"Chloe, appendicitis isn't the only reason for people to be angry at someone." He laughed a little at his cousin. "Where's Jessie, by the way?"

"Northwestern interview, that's why there are no drinks yet," Chloe said. And then added, "well, tell us what's wrong with your mom this time!"

"'Who you are is Andrea,'" he said coldly. "'And as long as you're in my house you will be Andrea. That is who I gave birth to, and that is who you'll be for the rest of your life.'" His friends fell silent. He just sighed and looked away, so he wouldn't cry. "Yeah. I decided to tell her."

"That is so fucked up." Bea shook her head. "I mean, seriously. Who does she think she is?"

"Your mother?" Chloe added. "Oh, wait. Yeah. She is your mother. Sorry."

"Not funny, Chloe," Bea chided. And then she turned back to Drew. "This is your identity. What does she have against your identity?"

"I don't know, Bea. I honest to god don't know."

"You private school kids need to let us public school kids in on your code names sometime in the future," Jake piped. "Why does she do that? None of our parents have problems with that –"

"I'm so sorry I'm late, you guys!" Jessie called. "I had to take the –"

"Jess, this is not the time," Bea said quietly as she cleared space for Jessie to sit next to her.

"I wanted to tell you guys how the interview went," she said, confused.

"So tell us," Drew told her. "Please tell us how the interview went and save me from more of Chloe's bad jokes."

"Well, my mom took her time with Carl, I had trouble getting dressed, got there an hour late and had a ten-minute interview." She motioned to Bea to go back and pushed Drew a bit in, to sit next to him. "And yet, I am a perfect fit."

As they all praised her, Drew stayed silent. And then she noticed that. "Drew, is something wrong?"

"I don't want to rain on your parade, Braces."

"You're not raining on anyone's parade, Drew. Come on. Tell me."

"I told my mom I want to be called Drew." He looked in her eyes. And then her face fell.

"Oh. I'm… God, what am I doing? Come here for hugs. You need them." She pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, not letting go until their milkshakes arrived. "You're so brave, Drew. So brave."

"I'm not brave. I just told my mom something about me."

"Yeah, but do you know how hard this is? I came here straight from my interview. I can't even bring myself to tell my mom about what the dean said, and I don't think I'll tell her until much later tonight."

"That's different." He scoffed and turned to his shake. "Your mom is not going to give you a hard time over college acceptance. My mom is going to make my life a living hell simply by knowing this small piece of information."

"No, she's not. But she's also not going to let me go so easily." She held his hand. "Remember who my mom is. She's dysfunctional. If my mom was any decent, I'd probably not be late to my interview by an hour."

"We get it, you're both fucked in that department," Chloe said. "Can we talk about something else? Jake, you were talking about Steven Universe?"

* * *

 

Drew was the first one in the booth that Friday. He had a duffel bag and his school bag under the table and his guitar next to him, and nothing else. And the next ones to make it there were Chloe and Jessie.

And of course, Chloe noticed the bags.

"Are you running away, Drew?" His cousin asked suspiciously. He looked at her. "The bags. Why do you have those bags here if not for running away? You're eighteen now. We celebrated your birthday this Wednesday."

"I'm not running away. I invited you all for a different reason."

Jessie took her place next to him, with Chloe squishing her way in to his other side. When Bea and Jake arrived, and the shakes came, he started talking.

"I need a place to live until graduation."

Everyone turned their heads to him. Bea was the first to speak.

"What? What do you mean a place to live until graduation?"

"You heard well." He passed her a note. She took it up, saw the picture on the back and read the message –

"'I'm sorry, Drew,'" she read out loud. "'I accept that's who you are, but I can't accept that my daughter Andrea wasn't real. She was, and now she's gone. I miss her with all my heart.'"

"What is this bullshit?" Chloe whispered.

"Let her finish," Jake said, for the first time ever in all seriousness.

"'And seeing you every day is a reminder of what I lost. It's too much. I hope one day you'll understand.'" She slowly raised her head from the note. "But why?"

"I wouldn't know." He tried to stop himself from crying. "She just… I came home early today, you know. Since Larsson is on her maternity leave and there's no substitute yet."

"Yeah, that I know. Get to the point."

"So I came home early, I expected her to be home. And the house was empty. And this was the only thing still stuck to the fridge with a magnet. At least she didn't take my clothes and guitar too."

He started crying. He hated crying. It made him feel awful.

Jessie pulled him into a hug and Chloe crushed him on the other side. He just sobbed into their shoulders, hiccupping once in a while.

"Take deep breathes," Chloe told him quietly. "I'll call Chris later. See if he can help us move the rest of your stuff."

"Everything I own is in those two bags and guitar case," he said. "You'll really let me move in?"

"Sure. What's family for if not this kind of support?" She broke from the hug. "Bea, we're going to need your car tonight."

"No problem. And Drew," Bea said, "if you need anything, my home is open too. My mom told you that a while ago, you remember."

"I'm going to graduate from our school, Bea. It's the least of my worries."

"And Jake, how about you finally show us one of those Steven Universe episodes?"

Drew saw Jake jump in his place and turn on his phone. He smiled a little. And then Chloe touched his shoulder.

"You know," she muttered, "I was really hoping it would be appendicitis."

And then he broke down laughing, making the rest laugh as well. He could never change Chloe. He would never.

Chloe was the best cousin Drew could ever wish for.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, now, a further explanation of the dynamics - Drew is a private school kid. His only friend was, for a long time, his second cousin Chloe (who is the daughter of his dad's cousin and his second wife, just a heads-up). During his first summer at camp he made friends with Jessie, and later on they found out they're both from the same city, so they became even closer. Drew met Jake through Chloe, since they're both in the same school, and Bea only became Drew's friend during the fourth grade, so this is how the rest of them know her. They're a tight-knit group and they know all of each other's secrets, so there's no point in being secretive among them.
> 
> And Milkshake Wednesday is just them going out to drink milkshakes every Wednesday, and it's that because back in the day, there was a program in Drew and Bea's school that kept them late most days of the week but Wednesdays and Fridays, and then on Fridays everyone just had different plans. So that stuck. Those days are more dedicated to talking and spending actual time with each other than to drinking milkshakes.
> 
> Oh, and Drew's birthday is March 16th. Jessie's is March 31st. I chose those dates randomly. I chose everyone's birthdays randomly for the sake of the story. Just to clear up things.


End file.
